Fan Li watched the exchange with glee, chuckling nonstop.
“Is Xia Xia dating someone? People in the honeymoon phase of love are always glued to their phones, grinning like idiots.”
Liang Zhixia: “I wasn’t grinning like an idiot!”
Jiang Ling and Fan Li burst out laughing in unison. Liang Zhixia dropped his hands with a sigh, realizing he’d basically outed himself.
With class still a few minutes away, Jiang Ling and Fan Li subjected him to a thorough interrogation.
He pressed his lips together. “It’s not what you think. I don’t like him—it’s just a deal.”
He saw no reason to hide it from his close friends, and besides, it was the truth.
Better to clear the air now than have them grilling him a month later about why they broke up.
Jiang Ling and Fan Li exchanged a glance and let it drop, quickly steering the conversation elsewhere.
Liang Zhixia propped his chin on his hand as he listened to them chat. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure standing outside the window. A name flashed in his mind instantly.
The homeroom teacher!
Only after sitting up straight did he remember they were in college now—no more homeroom teachers.
He let out a quiet breath of relief and pretended nothing had happened, pulling out his phone again.
A knock sounded on the window beside him.
He looked up. Xu Cheng stood outside, with Lu Quan lurking in the shadows on the other side.
“Senior, is something up?” he asked.
Xu Cheng flashed a carefree grin. “Nah, just happened to pass by and saw you. Thought I’d say hi.”
Liang Zhixia murmured an “oh,” though doubt stirred in his chest. Lu Quan’s classroom for this period was in a completely different building—there was no way this was “on the way.”
He glanced at Lu Quan, only to find the man’s expression stormy.
Shielded by the window curtain, he whispered, “What’s up with Brother Lu?”
Xu Cheng shrugged, signaling ignorance.
“He was fine a minute ago. No idea what set him off—probably about to lose it again.”
Xu Cheng spoke in the utterly jaded tone of someone long accustomed to it.
Liang Zhixia: “?”
They were whispering to avoid being overheard by the man in question, so they had to lean in close.
From Lu Quan’s vantage point, it looked like Xu Cheng was practically pressed up against Zhizhi.
His scowl eased slightly. He reached out, grabbed Xu Cheng by the collar, and growled coolly, “What’s with getting so close? Can’t you talk from right here?”
Xu Cheng shut his mouth and winked at Liang Zhixia.
See? Losing it.
Liang Zhixia: “…”
No wonder Senior Xu Cheng always rubbed Lu Quan the wrong way.
In the sunlight, the young man’s light tea-colored eyes gleamed with exceptional clarity. Lu Quan’s gaze swept over his cheek—there were no traces left of the mark he’d left behind.
The mark was gone.
Just like Zhizhi had said moments ago.
He didn’t like him.
It was just a transaction.
But… so what?
He wasn’t getting away that easily.
Lu Quan was a patient hunter. The net would close eventually.
Class was about to start. Liang Zhixia waved at the two of them. “Brother Lu, you should head to class. It’s almost time.”
Lu Quan’s furrowed brow relaxed a fraction. A smile tugged at his lips as he drawled, “You know I have class?”
Liang Zhixia nodded. “In Zhizhen Building, Room 302.”
The tension drained from Lu Quan all at once, the chill in his expression vanishing. He lifted the arm he’d kept lowered, revealing several cups of iced milk tea dangling from his long fingers.
He stretched his arm through the window, setting the three different flavors on the desk, then casually pinched Zhizhi’s cheek.
“Xia Xia, I’ll head to class now.”
Once Lu Quan and Xu Cheng had left, Liang Zhixia was still a bit dazed.
He touched his cheek, still cool where Lu Quan had pinched it.
His gaze fell on the milk teas. The one closest to him—Mango Pomelo Sago—was his favorite.
The other two must be for Jiang Ling and Fan Li.
Jiang Ling’s brows rose, his eyes alight with curiosity.
Fan Li stared at the cup in front of him, thrilled. “Did the campus heartthrob get these for us?”
He was utterly ordinary, nothing special about him. Without Xia Xia, he’d never have crossed paths with the campus heartthrob.
Liang Zhixia pulled out his phone to text Lu Quan while answering. “Probably.”
The classmates nearby had already noticed the commotion. The one closest turned to ask.
Liang Zhixia didn’t want everyone knowing he and Lu Quan were roommates, so he gave a vague reply. “Senior Lu helped me out once.”
The classmate mulled it over—yeah, they lived in the same dorm building, so running into each other made sense—and turned back around. The others followed suit.
Liang Zhixia exhaled in relief and glanced at his phone screen.
Lu Quan had replied.
【Lu Quan】: Bought them for you. The other two are freebies.
He pressed his lips together and typed.
【lzx】: Thanks, Brother Lu.
【lzx】: Bowing Cat.jpg
With that adorably dopey little cat thrown in, the thank-you didn’t sound quite so stiff.
The bell rang. He pocketed his phone and focused on the lecture.
Time always flew when he was paying attention in class. He packed up his books and headed out with his friends.
He had a part-time gig at the coffee shop every evening, so he skipped dinner with the group.
He swung by the dorm first to drop his stuff, then headed to the coffee shop.
He’d just arrived when a message popped up in the class group chat, @-ing everyone.
【@everyone, the school clubs will be recruiting new members over the next couple days. Hope everyone joins the ones they like to make college life even more exciting.】
It was from the class president. He replied with a quick “got it” and put his phone away.
As he served customers, his thoughts drifted to Lu Quan. The man didn’t come every day—only on weekends when he worked, and even then, only if he wasn’t swamped.
But whenever Lu Quan showed up, he was thrilled.
Because then the customers wouldn’t all be hounding just him.
He delivered coffee to the last patron, then ducked into the break room to change.
After his shift, he stepped out of the coffee shop and waited by the door.
A girl hurried out, looking apologetic. “Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?”
Liang Zhixia shook his head. “Not at all.”
Her name was Li Keke, a new hire at the coffee shop this week. Like him, she was a student from a nearby college.
They were headed back to school the same way, so Liang Zhixia usually waited for her—nights weren’t the safest.
Her school came first. As he turned to leave, Li Keke called after him.
She jogged up, panting. “Almost forgot—there’s a birthday banquet next Saturday that needs servers. You in?”
He started to shake his head, but she added, “Daily pay’s a thousand.”
Liang Zhixia swallowed his refusal and smiled. “Sure, I’m in.”
Li Keke nodded. “I’ll text you the details later. Let me know if you’re confirmed, and I’ll sign us both up.”
“Got it,” he said.
Back in the dorm, he showered and hit the sack.
As he drifted off into a hazy sleep, it suddenly hit him—Lu Quan still wasn’t back.
But exhaustion crashed over him, and his eyes fluttered shut, his breathing evening out.
Meanwhile.
At the top floor of Lu Corporation.
Lu Quan lounged idly on the leather sofa in the office, scrolling through his phone.
A middle-aged man who bore a passing resemblance to him sat nearby.
“What was that midnight escapade you pulled last time? You scared Lu Manman half to death—he cried for hours.”
Lu Quan reluctantly tore his eyes from the screen, his voice drawling lazily. “He cried? Just comfort him, problem solved.”
Lu Shaofeng sighed. He knew his eldest son still resented him and his wife. He clasped his hands tightly, looking worn out. “Lu Quan, Dad’s just worried about you. Heading out that late scared Lu Manman to tears. Can’t Dad know what happened?”
Lu Quan cut off the video of Zhizhi’s sweet, peaceful sleeping face and replied flatly, “Nothing much. Went after someone.”
Lu Shaofeng hadn’t really expected Lu Quan to tell him, so when Lu Quan actually did, he nearly failed to react in time.
His eyes widened slightly. “Is it the kind of chasing someone that Dad thinks it is?”
Lu Quan nodded. “Yeah.”
Lu Shaofeng had previously believed that Lu Quan would have a hard time finding someone to spend his life with. Now, hearing this good news, he wished he could rush home right that instant and tell his wife.
Lu Quan watched his father’s delighted expression and abruptly poured cold water on the moment.
“It’s a guy. Whether you can accept it or not doesn’t matter.”
The smile on Lu Shaofeng’s face froze. He had weathered quite a few shocks that evening. After a pause, he said, “It’s fine. As long as you like him, bring him home sometime for Dad and Mom to meet.”
Lu Quan wasn’t surprised by the response. He nodded lazily.
“Then I’m heading out.”
He couldn’t stand just looking at Zhizhi through his phone anymore. He wanted to see him up close.
But on the way back to the dorm, heavy rain suddenly poured down outside. Thunder boomed overhead as bolts of lightning streaked across the sky.
Rain pelted the car window with a rapid patter.
When Lu Quan returned to the dorm, he discovered that the light was on—different from what he had seen on his phone.
He had just stepped inside when he heard faint rustling sounds.
Coming from Zhizhi’s bed.
Frowning, Lu Quan walked over and pulled back the bed curtain. There sat the young man on the bed, wrapped in his blanket, with a shattered glass cup on the floor.
Liang Zhixia heard the noise and slowly lifted his head. He saw Lu Quan standing by his bed, backlit.
“Woken up by the thunder?”
He nodded. In truth, it had been a nightmare.
He had jolted awake from the nightmare just as a deafening thunderclap roared outside.
The pitch-black room pressed down on him, stifling his breath. He could hear only his own ragged breathing.
He hated rainy days.
Under the light, a large wet patch stained the bedding, the water marks starkly visible. Lu Quan noticed it immediately.
Combined with the broken glass on the floor, he could easily picture what had happened: Zhizhi must have gotten out of bed for a drink of water but had been startled by the thunder, causing him to drop and shatter the cup.
Water had splashed everywhere, even soaking the slippers by the bed. The fuzzy trim on them lay matted and sodden.
Liang Zhixia’s pajamas hung in disarray, exposing a broad expanse of pale, luminous skin. The sight made Lu Quan’s eyes burn red.
Seeing the lingering fear in Zhizhi’s eyes, Lu Quan extended a hand toward him, a gentle smile curving his lips.
“Zhizhi, sleep with me tonight.”
